


an ocean of possibility

by cosmicpoet



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Beaches, F/F, Fluff, Overcoming fears
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-26 09:40:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17139434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cosmicpoet/pseuds/cosmicpoet
Summary: Himiko wants to overcome her dislike of the ocean, and Angie is more than happy to help her.





	an ocean of possibility

“I told you, Himiko, it’s a surprise!” Angie says, driving down the dirt roads as the sun sets, glistening off the windshield; the soft pink of twilight graces the sky, with the first few stars becoming visible against the peaks of the early night.

“Nyeh,” Himiko replies, tiredness in her voice, “I don’t like surprises.”

“You’ll like this one, c’mon, cheer up! It’s going to be the best date ever. You can’t even pretend not to like dates!”

“There’s a lot of things I don’t like.”

“And a lot of things you do. Me, for example,” Angie laughs, smiling as she slows the car to a stop and unbuckles her seatbelt, “now come on, this is the perfect time for it!”

_“It?”_

“For the beach!”

“The beach? That’s the surprise?”

“Yep!”

“Angie…I hate the ocean. Capital ‘H’ _hate_ the ocean.”

“No, I recall you saying you were _scared_ of the ocean, not that you outright hated it.”

“It’s the same thing.”

“It’s not,” Angie smiles, “because if you’re scared of something, it just means that it’s an opportunity for you to become braver.”

“I guess…whatever. I suppose I _would_ like to stop being scared of things.”

“That’s the spirit! And if you’re too scared at any point, we can just turn back and go home.”

“Okay. Yeah, that sounds good, actually.”

Himiko gets out of the car, and Angie locks it before leading her down the sand dunes so that the coastline is just visible. Still, they’re a while away from the water, and together, they sit down on the sand; it’s warm, because it’s been a boiling hot day and is only now cooling to a reasonable temperature.

“See, just look at it,” Angie says, “and tell me how you feel.”

“It’s…it’s pretty, I guess. I still wouldn’t want to be, y’know, in it just yet, but it looks nice.”

“There you go! You’re already making progress. And doesn’t it feel wonderful, the wind in your hair, nobody else around, the sunset against the water?”

“Nyeh…”

“See,” Angie puts her arm around Himiko and points out to the horizon, whilst Himiko leans into her, “how the light just bounces off the water. It looks like the whole thing is sparkling. And it’s so graceful, even here, on this tiny little beach; it’s like Atua’s watching us, watching the ocean, and He’s decided to make it beautiful, just for you and I.”

“You’re right,” Himiko says, “can we get closer?”

“Of course we can, darling!”

Angie lets Himiko take the lead, walking further down the beach until she stops and sits, evidently reaching the boundary of her fear. From here, the water is much closer, but not close enough to touch them even with the rolling waves.

“It’s even better up close,” Himiko says.

“I know, right?”

Angie opens her bag and pulls out a small tray of watercolours and a sketchbook. She kisses Himiko on the head and then walks up to the ocean, bending down as the water laps over her feet; when she comes back, she’s holding a small pot filled with seawater.

“What’s that?” Himiko asks.

“I always like to put a little bit of the world back into my drawings. Using seawater for my watercolours means that when I paint the ocean, it’ll be like having it with me wherever I go.”

“That’s beautiful.”

“I know, right?”

“I like the way you think, Angie. Sometimes…no - a lot of the time, I wish I could think more like you. Y’know, be positive, optimistic, creative. I just…I think I’m ready now.”

“Ready?”

“To feel the ocean. Just a little bit, but…I want to be more like you. And if overcoming my fears will help me get closer to seeing things with a bit more optimism, then that’s what I’ll do.”

“Alright. But remember, at any point, we can just turn around and go home. It doesn’t make you weak if you’re not quite ready to face your fears. You’ve already done so much.”

“But you wouldn’t stop, would you? You’d keep going even if you were scared, ‘cause that’s just how you are. That’s why…that’s why I love you.”

“And I love _you_ for all the things about you that _I_ admire, Himiko. There’s more to you than you give yourself credit for, a whole _lot_ more, in fact. You’re intuitive, and you stick to your instincts even when you’re not sure why. When you believe in something, you’ll fight for it, in the face of adversity and difference. You don’t need to change a single thing about yourself, ‘cause you’re perfect the way you are.”

“Nyeh…Angie…I’m not good with compliments.”

“It’s alright. You’re blushing, which is by far cute enough for me.”

They kick off their shoes, and Angie takes Himiko’s hand as she leads her slowly into the water. It’s tentative at first, and Angie keeps looking over at her girlfriend to check that she’s alright, but eventually, Himiko bursts out into a smile that challenges the moonlight itself for radiance.

“It’s not that bad! No…it’s great!” Himiko shouts.

“Tell me what you feel.”

“It’s like…it’s cool. Not cold, but it’s really nice. Refreshing, kinda. You know? And it looks so beautiful up close. Like there’s nothing to be scared of at all! Yeah…there’s nothing to be scared of at all!”

“And isn’t it wonderful?”

“Oh, absolutely. Angie, I’m so glad! I’m so happy! I stopped being scared and now…now everything is amazing. Oh, thank you, _thank you!”_

“There’s no need to thank me,” Angie wades over to Himiko and holds her hand, turning her head up towards the stars that now dance their way across the canvas of the night, “it’s all you. It’s all your bravery.”

Himiko, fascinated by the water, stands there for a few more moments before they retreat back to the sand. When Angie picks up her sketchbook, Himiko rests her head on her shoulder; the rhythm of Angie’s hand moving, wrapped around the paintbrush, lulls her into comfort and almost-sleep.

As the moon watches them, glistening like diamonds against the ice-blue of the ocean, a painting comes to life. Just one, just once, but in this moment, the entire world looks on at a beach immortalised in watercolours, and the two girls who sit, fondly in their own love, casting out their dreams to the point where the line of the fading ocean meets the sky.

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Christmas to the one and only yumaga queen....Space


End file.
